How B2B Marketers are successfully using LinkedIn.

When social media is mentioned generally people will automatically think of Facebook, Twitter and possibly Youtube. However when it comes to business to business (B2B) marketing and interaction LinkedIn is now very much the one companies are looking to for that competitive advantage. LinkedIn is for people in professional occupations. Founded in December 2002 and launched on May 5, 2003, it is mainly used for professional networking and in particular B2B. As of June 2013, LinkedIn reports more than 259 million acquired users in more than 200 countries and territories.

Engaging buyers on LinkedIn is primarily about creating and sharing relevant content and participating in Discussions and Groups.

Below are a list of Reasons how companies can and are successfully utilizing LinkedIn:

1. The Ability to Create an Interactive Company Page

Facebook doesn’t allow users to choose what content visitors always see. It’s feed-driven, and mercilessly controlled by Facebook. A LinkedIn Company Page offers companies something quite unique, which is the ability to display a “page” that is unchanging, unless of course the company wishes to change it. Not only can companies add rich media such as videos, sound files and slides to various sections; they can also highlight each one of their products/services under the “Products and Services” tab.

2. Creating and Distributing content

LinkedIn is a platform with stunning access to data, which makes it a potent solution for delivering personalized content to a companies audience segments. Creating appropriate and relevant content and distributing it in the correct manner is key to successfully using LinkedIn. Here are strategies for creating and distributing content on LinkedIn.

3. Target the international market

LinkedIn provides B2B Marketers the opportunity to target market throughout the world. LinkedIn B2B marketers have found that LinkedIn is a great t platform in which to target international customers and this link explains further how companies can do it effectively.

4. LinkedIn Offers Multiple Ways to Keep in Touch

LinkedIn allows for many options, when it comes to communicating: The feed, In-mail, Group posts and comments, direct messaging via Groups and email are all methods of communication LinkedIn provides. Using the method that best suits a companies connection’s communication preferences becomes much more natural and easy.

The video below summaries how B2B marketers can grow their business and use LinkedIn to its full potential.

LinkedIn is for business networking – so B2B marketers must make full use of it and network in the right way.